Wednesday, April 20, 2016

A Jersey City Desk Editorial -- Those Entitled Bikers

Johnny spent the better half of the last few hours exposing the sheer hypocrisy of so many of the bikers here in Jersey City. First, have you ever met a biker or member of any bike group that didn't have strong opinions, ne, intransigent positions on cars and how they drive, park, fill up with gas, how many mpg's they get and on and on and on? Cars are their enemy in cities all over America. NO GROUND must be given to cars according to these same bike groups.

You'd think these so-called forward thinkers might carry their worldview throughout their lives but you'd be wrong. It ends at cars. A member of a group calling itself BikeJC, speaking for all bikers in Jersey City spent some time telling Johnny that indeed in some cases it's ok for bikers to use the sidewalks (GET THAT FUCKING CAR OUT OF THE FUCKING BIKE LANE BEFORE I THROW MY KLEEN KANTEEN AT IT) because well, they didn't give any one reason. They said zero tolerance doesn't work ever anywhere (GET THAT CAR'S NOSE OUT OF THE CROSSWALK GODDAMMIT!) and well, shuckins, because it works in the Netherlands and Germany, we're all safer. So there you have it. Bikers do not want for themselves what they expect of others, there is no other way to put it. There's no other way for them to weasel out of their what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable worldview.

Want a question to make their heads spin? Ask them when can't they ride on sidewalks.

When Johnny had the common sense to bring up the idea that bikes under no circumstances should be on the sidewalk ever he got this golden nugget from BikeJC:

1) Yes we passed laws making it illegal to ride on sidewalks ever. We worked really hard on that law.
2) It's OK for bikers to ride on sidewalks (no word on whenever, sometimes, maybe, if they feel like it, if they hear a car horn or get scared by the Light Rail).

Remind you of anything?

Phase One-Collect Underpants
Phase Two-
Phase Three-Profit

But it's ok because statistics say it's safer for bikes to go on sidewalks with zero hard fast parameters. If you get hit, well there's where the BikeJC spokesperson on Twitter had no answers. Who pays if you get run down or your pet gets hit? The biker? We're hearing from the biker group they shouldn't be responsible because of statistics. The city? Yeah, right. You see where this is going. If a car hit a biker in the bike lane they howl with indignity yet should a biker hit someone on a sideWALK, well then they try and murk up the situation right quick. When Johnny suggested a zero tolerance law (which technically exists because of BikeJC) be enforced the bike group spokesperson took this to the ridiculous endgame of the police kicking in your door if you smoke a joint.

Project much?

It's simple, it's against the law to ride on the sidewalk. ANY biker riding on the sidewalk by any of the dozens of police standing around construction sites, those standing around busy intersections or on patrol should talk with the biker. Why were you on the sidewalk? Avoiding a situation in the street and maybe they go. If they're just on the sidewalk, ticket. Let the officer decide.

This utopia where cars are attacked and bikers just do what they want because they hide behind statistics and NEVER accept personal responsibility may work in the Borough of Oz but not in Jersey City. Continue to document bikers on the sidewalks and feel free to confront them, also know as education, in getting them off the sidewalks once and for all.